The Space Show
The Space Show
The Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism,space exploration and space development. The Space Show is committed to facilitating our becoming a space-faring nation and society with a growing and self-sustaining space-faring economy. The Space Show also focuses on other related subjects of interest to us all.
Station feed:  Created by: David Livingston |
Created on: 12 May 2005 Language: English |
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Brian Weeden, Friday, 12-17-10 (62.63MB; download) -- Guest: Brian Weeden. Topics: Space debris and space traffic management. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Brian Weeden back to The Space Show to discuss the latest on space debris mitigation and space traffic management. We started by Brian describing the current space debris situation and why its a mounting problem. He talked about the need to move objects in space away from potential collisions, including the ISS, and relatively new efforts by the Air Force in tracking as much of the debris as possible and notifying owners of possible collisions by using conjunction assessments.. He explained how this was done and the probability factor in reporting it. Brian introduced us to the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and what it does. For more information on this, visit their website at www.iadc-online.org/index.cgi. We learned that there was a significant effort underway to engage China in space debris discussions and actions which is why the 2010 Beijing Orbital Debris Mitigation Workshop was held in China. Toward the end of this segment, we started taking questions and Greg inquired about salvaging boosters and dead satellites as a commercial venture. This sparked a discussion on the absence of space salvage law, ownership liability under the UN treaties, and other complicating issues pertaining to what Greg was asking about. In the second long segment, we began by discussing space tethers as a mitigation tool. Also discussed were space lasers as well as other possible methods for dealing with the debris problem. As you will hear, dealing with the smaller debris is very different from dealing with the large debris. Cost estimates for debris removal as well as time lines were discussed. So were the NASA and DARPA efforts in this area. The subject of a recent Rand Institute report on the issue calling for a superfund to be created to pay for and mitigate the debris was the subject of much discussion. You can read about this superfund idea at www.space.com/news/space-junk-threat-superfund-sites-101214.html. Later in this segment, we talked about GEO allocation slots and the process, then a listener asked about the Air Force training program for their airmen to work in this area. Brian explained qualitative training and how its done. Near the end of the program, a listener referenced a Classroom program regarding space traffic management and docking at an orbital propellant depot. Brian had much to say about this so don't miss the discussion. In summarizing, he suggested the next step in the process would be debris mitigation demo flights and he thought that might happen within 5 years. If you have comments or questions for Brian Weeden, please post them on The Space Show blog at the URL above. You can also email Brian at bweeden@swfound.org. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:46:40 UTC
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Kerry Scarlott, Tuesday, 12-14-10 (49.07MB; download) -- Guest: Kerry Scarlott. Topics: ITAR and ITAR reform efforts. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Kerry Scarlott for a comprehensive discussion on ITAR and the reform efforts underway to modernize the ITAR regime, especially for commercial space technology and products. In our first segment, Mr. Scarlott provided us with an expanded overview of export control in the United States. He talked about the three areas of export control including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and embargo & sanction programs administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) We focused in on ITAR which is very broad and involves the Depts. of State, Commerce, and Defense. This is an excellent discussion and overview of the ITAR and related regulations bringing us current to this point in time. Our guest distinguished sensitive military and battlefield technologies needing national security protection from less sensitive products that can be manufactured in other countries as many nations have similar technology capabilities to the U.S. A few of the sensitive items he mentioned were night vision devices and UAVs. Mr. Scarlott provided us with examples pertaining to parts going into a commercial satellite, including foreign made satellites and then the foreign satellite becomes subject to U.S. ITAR regulations. As we ended this segment, we fielded a question from a UK listener about allies of the United States being discriminated against and we talked about the Canadian exemptions to the ITAR. In the second segment, Mr. Scarlott talked about the ITAR today and the efforts to modify or reform it. Several of the ideas he talked about are in a paper which he co-authored, "U.S. Export Control Reform - What does it mean for you? This paper can be downloaded from his website at www.goulstonstorrs.com/NewsEvents/Advisories?find=40002. Among the ideas on the table are to combine the two control lists administered by the Departments of Commerce and State into one list, and to tier the risk associated with various technologies. Tier 1 would be the products and technologies that pose the most risk to national security if in the wrong hands, Tier 2 would cover products and technologies of moderate security risk, and Tier 3 would be cover products and technologies with the least security risk. As for the administration of the new control list, it is unclear at this point if that will be the responsibility of the State Department, the Commerce Department, or a newly created agency. We also talked about the politics of Congress in ITAR reform and the two schools of thought. These two schools represent the perspective of needing more and tighter national security as opposed to removing restrictions in favor of encouraging exports and domestic job growth. Later in this segment, we talked about the geopolitical risks associated with technology and the risk of technology espionage both in the United States and with our allies as this draws into question the very nature of being able to protect important technologies. In the final segment, we talked some more about ITAR in other countries but as you will hear, the U.S. has the most restrictive regime. Kerry discussed how companies, big or small, navigate ITAR. He explained how vague the rules are and compared the situation to the EAR which is quite evolved and detailed. Later Kerry brought up the case of the 72 year old Univ. of Tennessee professor convicted of an ITAR criminal act and sentenced to two years in prison. See www.djacobsonlaw.com/2009/07/tennessee-professor-sentenced-to-48.html for details. If you have comments or questions for Kerry Scarlott, please post them on The Space Show blog URL above. You can also email Mr. Scarlott at kscarlott@goulstonstorrs.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:57:02 UTC
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Jon Goff, Monday, 12-13-10 (57.53MB; download) -- Guest: Jonathan Goff. Topics: Altius Space Machines, propellant depots, Sticky Boom SBIR and more. http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed back Jon Goff to talk with us about his new company, Altius Space Machines in Louisville, Colorado. We started our discussion with Jon with his telling us about Altius and two of the major contracts his company has started working on regarding a nanosat launcher upper stage and another project with ULA. He went on to talk about The Sticky Boom SBIR which Altius won and what this means for space development, rendezvous and docking and more. Make sure you listen to this discussion as it represents a potential game changing technology. At the end of the first segment, Jon talked about the reasons for his departure from Masten Space Systems. In our second segment, we started off with a call from Dave regarding debris capture in LEO and the projects Jon discussed in the first segment. Several listeners sent in multiple question emails. Colin wanted to know more about the NanoSat Launch Vehicle Contest, how working at Masten prepared him for his own company, & tips on starting a company w/o deep pockets. Chris in Argentina wanted to know about vapor lock and safety issues regarding orbital propellant depots, Andrew inquired about the likelihood of an entrepreneur developing a class of liquid rocket engines in the 300 sec ISP range in a garage type amateur machine shop, and Tony inquired if Altius would one day compete with SpaceX. Toward the end of this long segment, Tom wanted to know about the Google Lunar XPRIZE contestants and opportunities. During this segment, reusability came up and we talked about starting small and incrementally ramping up. Jon talked about many of the lessons learned from working at Masten and mentioned that it was much harder to get hardware to fly than to develop a paper rocket. Other discussion topics included Microreentry and Microdelivery vehicles as well as rocket and spacecraft rapid prototyping. Later in this segment, we talked about advancements in propulsion technology that might take us away from chemical rockets. Jon said that there was still much to be squeezed out of chemical rockets, that with new manifesting technologies and other developments, we could still improve on chemical rocket costs. During this segment, Jon took the time to discuss his lunar exploration philosophy and to clarify his position on that. Trent called from Australia to talk more about the variable gravity research station that Jon talked about and to echo the need for such a tool in orbit if we are to take space settlement seriously. Jon has two blogs which you can follow. The Altius Space Machines blog is at http://blog.altius-space.com. Selenian Boondocks is at http://selenianboondocks.com. For your comments and questions for Jon Goff regarding this program, please post them on The Space Show Blog at http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. You can also post your comments on Jon's blogs and you can email Jon through his blogs or by sending your note to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it to Jon. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:48:38 UTC
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Dr. Sean Casey, Sunday, 12-12-10 (46.15MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Sean Casey. Topics: SOFIA project, airborne telescopes, ground based telescopes and infrared solar system research. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed back Dr. Sean Casey to update us on SOFIA which is about to become fully operational. To learn more about SOFIA, its research and presentation opportunities. and even employment opportunities (SOFIA is hiring), please visit www.sofia.usra.edu. In addition, Dr. Casey has a site where you can explore much of what he talked about today and much more. Please visit www.slideshare.net/scasey1960. During our first segment, Dr. Casey reintroduced us to SOFIA as much progress has been made with the project since he was last on The Space Show. He explained the characteristics of infrared solar system research, temperature ranges, problems with water vapor in the atmosphere and ground based telescopes, even in Hawaii and Chile on the tops of very high mountains such as the Atacama Telescope Project and Observatory and Mauna Key Observatories. He talked about the great research obtained from the NASA Kuiper Airborne Observatory over that project's 20 years so for those of you wondering about the science that stems from these great projects, listen carefully so you can fully understand the contributions to science and humanity stemming from these projects and their researchers. Dr. Casey explained the international partnership with Germany and the U.S., specifically NASA and the German Space Agency regarding SOFIA, the basing of the aircraft at Palmdale, CA, and the types of missions SOFIA will undertake. He explained the Boeing 747 SP modifications and testing program and why the observing would take place at altitudes around 41,000. We started the second segment talking about SOFIA employment opportunities and then Dr. Casey explained the flight and mission planning for SOFIA research flights. We talked about daylight observing as compared to nighttime observing and then Sean received a question about the stability of funding for SOFIA given so many uncertainties with NASA funding at this time. Later in this segment, Dr. Casey took an email question from Barbara in Portland, Or. asking about the relationship of SOFIA with the general public and inquiring as to the cost benefits of the project for the American tax payer. Dr. Casey carefully explained the research platform qualities of SOFIA and how this research is used not just by NASA, but in other mission work throughout our system. This then took us to the subject of SOFIA public and educational outreach. Make sure you check out this information on the SOFIA website. Sean was asked about a typical SOFIA mission and he said from takeoff to landing they were around ten hours. As we started the third segment of the program, Dr. Case outlined future plans for SOFIA through 2013-15. He said the basic science would be completed in 2011 with about seven hours of mission flight time. 2012 would see the finishing of the instruments and the observatory equipment and 2013-15 would see a ramping up of using the SOFIA platform for about 960- science hours per year. Toward the end of the program, a question came in about using the NewSpace suborbital space tourism vehicles for human tended research opportunities and as you will hear, Dr. Casey was very excited and optimistic about these emerging possibilities. He also answered a question often asked on the program about the need for a human tended experiment as compared to a sounding rocket experiment. See what you think of this response. I like it! For your questions and comments about this program, subject and for Dr. Sean Casey, please post them on the blog URL above. You can also email Dr. Sean Casey at scasey@sofia.usra.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:21:18 UTC
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Rex Ridenoure, Friday, 12-10-10 (52.18MB; download) -- For the first 20 years of his career at Hughes, Lockheed, Utah State University, JPL, Microcosm, SpaceDev and BlastOff, Rex held technical leadership positions on twenty pathfinding, leading-edge space missions and projects as a spacecraft systems engineer, test conductor, mission engineer, mission planner, mission architect, project engineer and study leader. Notable missions include Viking/Mars, the Hubble Space Telescope, some of the first Shuttle-launched commercial communications satellites, Voyager/Neptune, Deep Space 1, Shuttle Get Away Special experiments, SURFSat and HGS-1. During the past ten years as a space entrepreneur at the helm of Ecliptic, the firm’s RocketCam product family has accumulated over 75 mission successes, including many Shuttle, Atlas, Delta and Minotaur launches, SpaceShipOne, LCROSS and SpaceShipTwo. Following his interests and passions, he has been a front-line contributor to and participant in a diverse set of space-project firsts and trends such as Mars landings, outer planet exploration, in-orbit servicing, mission salvage, secondary payloads, “faster-better-cheaper” lunar and asteroid missions, commercial astronaut corps, technology demo missions, planet-hunting missions, commercial lunar missions, new suborbital tourism and science vehicles and commercial habitable modules. Throughout his career he has presented, lectured and written about his project, mission and business experiences, garnering several major space industry awards along the way. His current focus is on growing Ecliptic and supporting the expanding commercialization of space. Rex earned his M.S. in Aeronautics from Caltech and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (Cum Laude) from Iowa State University (Ames).
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:11:53 UTC
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Dan Walt, Tuesday, 12-7-10 (62.31MB; download) -- Guest: Dan Walt. Topics: Federal government procurement process, NASA procurement, types of contracts, commercial space. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. During this comprehensive discussion on federal government procurement, including NASA, our guest mentioned several relevant websites. Listen carefully and jot down the URLs he provided if interested. Mr. Walt referenced many of them throughout this two hour program. We started our first segment by defining procurement. In the broader sense, Dan Walt said it referred to acquisitions and much of the first segment was devoted to his explaining the process, including oversight. We also talked about the authorization and the appropriation process in terms of procurement and the bigger the target, the more likely it is that Congress focuses on that target for budget cuts - at least in normal times. At the end of this segment, Dan started getting listener questions asking about the various types of government contracts and what constitutes commercial as compared to a government project. In the second segment, Dan started the contract discussion by talking about three primary contract types, fixed contracts, time and materials, and cost plus contracts. He defined each type in detail and fielded several questions about each type. Listeners asked if the contract type defined commercial or not. You do not want to miss this discussion. As you will hear, its more likely that commercial is defined by closely behaving as a true commercial venture would behave. The more addendums, amendments and special provisions that take the contractor away from acting like an arms length commercial company, the less commercial the relationship with the government despite the type of contract being used. Listen carefully to this discussion, its important. Other issues came up such as sharing risk, uncertainty versus certainty, and Space Act Agreements. Mr. Walt said that commercial was actually defined in the FAR and he urged listeners to check out that official definition. He said it was in the FAR Part 12. Listeners inquired about the expense for company booths at conferences and who pays for them. We also talked about Contract Administration and oversight. Intellectual property was an important part of this discussion and here Mr. Walt urged companies to work with an IP attorney as this was a very complicated issue. He acknowledged that such complications pose higher cost penalties on the smaller companies. Near the end of the program, Dan introduced us to the issue of training for the government agencies, including NASA, that supervise these contracts. He said that external oversight is mostly provided by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) which is an arm of Congress. As the show ended, we talked about CR and its possible extension for a full year, Dan's personal view of the current situation with FY 11 being on CR and his view of looking ahead to FY 12. His personal view was that we would have a FY 11 budget in the February-March period but he stressed that this was purely speculative on his part. If you have questions or comments for Dan Walt, please post them on the blog URL above and send them to Dan in care of me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:30:35 UTC
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Francis French, Monday, 12-6-10 (44.90MB; download) -- Guest: Francis French. Topics: human spaceflight history, STEM education, space policy, our space future. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. In addition, the books that Francis talked about during this program can be found at www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/books. If you buy them from this site, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF. During our first segment, Mr. French told us about existing and coming exhibits at he San Diego Air & Space Museum. We also talked about some of the permanent exhibits which include the Apollo 9 capsule, Moon rocks and in the aviation part of the museum, Predator drones. Francis told us about several of the educational, student, and outreach programs the museum has in place. Several listeners asked him about the students, changes he has noticed in them over the years, and their interest in STEM as well as space, also the teachers, and even the parents. Francis provided us with very interesting observations and commentary on these population subsets so don't miss what he had to say. In our second segment, he talked about his three books of which he is the co-author. These books included "In The Shadow Of The Moon," "Into That Silent Sea," and "Falling To Earth." All three of these books are being placed on the One Giant Leap Foundation Amazon partners book page per the above URL. Francis told us about each book, not just in terms of the book contents, but the behind the scenes stories and facts we seldom if ever hear about. The same for the space missions and the people who carried them out. As we continued talking about the stories that made up our early human spaceflight program, we talked about testing programs and risks then and now. You will both appreciate and enjoy this look at an important part of our history. In the third segment, Francis was asked to tell us more about Al Worden and "Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon" which will be released in the summer of 2011 but can be pre-ordered at this time. Francis not only told us about Al Worden and why he was and is so special, but he also talked about former Astronaut Donn Eisele. Toward the end of the show, listener Tony sent in a note asking if either space solar power or space tourism could be a driver for better STEM education. You can learn more about the San Diego Air & Space Museum from their website, www.sandiegoairandspace.org. Please post your questions and comments for Francis French on the blog URL above. You can also send them to Francis using www.sandiegoairandspace.org/includes/php/email_composer.php. Make sure you reference Francis French & The Space Show in your email. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:30:53 UTC
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Open Lines, Sunday, 12-5-10 (60.31MB; download) -- Guest: Open Lines with Dr. David Livingston. Topics: High school student space interview, Proton-M rocket launch, NASA Arsenic life form announcement, Outer Space Treaty models, space property rights, Whistleblowing and MRAPs. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. In the early part of the first segment, I listed numerous discussion topics for today's program, but only a few of the topics were picked up by listeners for discussion. Our initial caller was Andrew in Tucson who called in as a follow up to some of his more recent comments about property rights, the OST, and models such as Svalbard in Norway and the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty. We are planning a more comprehensive program with Andrew to explore these models for space development but listen and see what you think. Check out these websites for more information on this subject: www.aeco.no/MicrosoftWord-TheSvalbardTreaty.pdf.pdf; www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1925/10.html. After Andrew's call, Dave Hook called in to talk about the plight facing Space Show friend and guest Franz Gayl. Franz was a whistleblower re MRAP vehicles needed to save lives in our current wars and is facing reprisals for his actions. You need to hear this story as Dave tells it and later as Franz tells us as he called in to our show. Franz was then joined by Dr. Jurist. You can read about the case in this Washington Post article: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111903475.html. In addition to talking about Franz and the MRAPs, we brought everyone current on the status of the SUSTAIN Technology Roadmap. Its still possible that this roadmap will be published and released. If and when that happens, you will find out about on the program and we will be sure to tell everyone where to find a copy of the roadmap. The second segment began with the call by Franz so listen carefully to what he had to say. Since it appeared from our discussion that going after a person's security clearance was a way around the Whistleblower Act, we talked about this on air. Franz told us there was a petition for people to sign, the Whistleblower Protection Letter. If this interests you, check out the petition and pass it along to your friends: www.change.org/petitions/view/pass_whistleblower_protection_in_lame_duck. As we started the third segment, we took some calls about the arsenic life form story per the NASA PR statement and as you will hear, our callers did not think much of the story. We took some calls about the high student interview I did about space development and its importance with several listeners answering some of the questions, specifically #9 and #10. See what you think of the listener answers. Shortly after the show ended, the student emailed me with this comment: "Thank you very much for the recommendation of the paper and the talk show. It was extremely helpful, especially with the responses from question 9. I guess that question was a little biased, I didn't really word that one too well to stay neutral. My paper was supposed to show people from both points of view, and I think question 9 was more supportive of the other side of the argument. Otherwise thanks very much. I appreciate you taking your time answering my interview questions." Toward the end of the program, Marshall called in to talk about SSP and the high school student interview. If you have questions or comments for any of the participants contributing to this program, send them to me and I will forward your email to the person you designate. Don't forget to post your comments and question the blog URL above. Those interested in downloading the National Academies Press report I mentioned on air regarding the student questions, visit www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11820.
Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:39:47 UTC
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Constance Adams, Friday, 12-3-10 (43.43MB; download) -- Guest: Constance Adams. Topics: Life support systems, space education, investment in space & technology. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed back to the show Constance Adams to discuss space architecture, closed loop life support systems, space policy and technology, and space investment. As we started our first segment, Ms. Adams said we were getting closer to true closed life support systems. She then provided us with a quick overview and summary of where we are today with developing such systems. Our conversation then changed to the issue of how we sustain and fund great projects. A great project is a project that may take 20-30 years to complete. The question we kept asking during the show as well as on other Space Show programs was how do we fund and sustain these long term projects given the short term focus by Congress, our elected officials as well as the American general public. Constance then told us about a recent Los Angeles Times article about the upcoming reductions faced by the NASA Astronaut Corp. We talked about the economic problems but agreed that space and technology need continued investment, even an increase in investment, not cut backs as are being discussed. Listen to this complete discussion and let us know what you think or suggest as a solution. As we started the second segment, we picked up with the same theme and said it was wrong headed to eliminate or reduce technology and space investment and programs. Ms. Adams wondered about the impact this would have on our youth who still have the dream and want to study but then have no outlet or a greatly reduced outlet for their career paths. Listener Tim called in suggesting that people in power want to reduce the status of America in these fields. We talked about space internationalization as well in this segment. Ms. Adams mentioned that it was the space entrepreneurs that were now carrying the ball for our space program and that they were keeping the dream alive for our future. She thought that space development was a national security issue, something we have talked about many times on this show. In our third segment, we received listener emails about the attitude of government toward space development and talked some more about space investment, economic growth and space for wealth building for the nation and our future. Ms. Adams mentioned the changes in our economy over time that have adversely impacted space industrialization such as the fact that businesses no longer do long term investment and R&D. The X-37B project came up several times and we talked about NASA giving it to the Air Force and the possibility that the Air Force might decide to share it with NASA. We received listener questions about life support systems, specifically the ECLSS. Toward the end of the program, Constance was asked about Mars habitats and how space habitats were being sized for human spaceflight. If you have questions or comments for Constance Adams, please post them on The Space Show blog listed above. You can also email them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to Constance. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:11:05 UTC
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Dr. J. Richard Gott, Tuesday, 11-30-10 (71.45MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. J. Richard Gott. Topics: Cosmology, Mars colonization & the Copernican Principle, time travel possibilities. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Dr. J. Richard Gott to this two hour plus program. Dr. Gott's book, "Sizing Up the Universe: The Cosmos in Perspective," is available on the OGLF book page at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1426206518?tag=onegialeafou-20. This book will be make a great holiday gift so do consider it. Remember, if you buy it from the OGLF Amazon link above, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show. In addition, you can read an excellent New York Times article about Dr. Gott's Copernican Principle at www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/17tier.html. In our first long segment, Dr. Gott began our discussion by taking us through his new book which has many unique features in it. Its the universe in perspective as he has scaled it starting with lunar footprints. Not only did Dr. Gott take us through the book, the maps, the scaled photographs, the Sloan Great Wall of Galaxies, he talked about the visible universe and this took us into the Theory of Inflation and even a discussion on the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligent life. This then provided us with the introduction to the Copernican Principle and the theory that we on Earth are not special, therefore its likely that other possible intelligent life in the galaxy is not special. Most of the rest of our program was focused on the Copernican Principle, the urgency to commence space colonization on Mars, and the fact that our space program may end up being very short lived. Listeners called in and used email to ask Dr. Gott questions about being special or not and the Copernican Principle, to challenge, try to understand, and to disagree with Dr. Gott. At one point I told Dr. Gott that we have a hard time getting our arms around the possibility that we are not special and that perhaps other intelligent life in the galaxy is stuck on their planet as we seem to be stuck on ours. Several listeners joked about ET having a similar Congress to us, having funding cut, etc. but as you will hear, getting off our planet is hard to do, not just because of the technology, but because of the costs involved, the economics, and the political will which Dr. Gott said was the real barrier. At one point, I transported Dr. Gott to a congressional hearing and told him to state his case of urgency for Mars colonization now. Do you think he convinced Congress to fund our space program with a Mars colonization focus to it? Other topics came up during the first segment including inflation theory, relativity, interstellar travel, the age of our space program and its possible expected remaining life, and the survival of the species theory for space colonization and why humans need to be on two planets. In our second segment, Dr. Gott was challenged by Trent who brought up some of Dr. Gott's critics, including rebuttals by Carlton M. Caves. See what you think of this discussion. Dr. Gott responded to questions about SETI and explained why it was a low cost, worthwhile program with a big expected value potential payoff. In response to John's comment about the life expectancy of a ten year old, Dr. Gott showed us how the Copernican Principle predicted his life to be a minimum of a quarter of a year to a maximum of 390 years. He then applied the Principle to my age and if he is right, The Space Show has a chance of being around a long time. Toward the end of the discussion, Dr. Gott took us into the realm of time travel, both into the future and the past. You might be surprised by this discussion. Don't miss his closing comments and Pearls of Wisdom. For your questions and comments, post them on the blog URL above. You can also email them to Dr. Gott at jrg@astro.princeton.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:42:09 UTC
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